Situation with irrigation water is critical this year, Vitaly Kakshtyks, a representative of the Association of Corn Growers, has announced at a briefing.
“There are a lot of problems with water this year. Situation in all rural areas of Kyrgyzstan is critical now. We need to take control of every liter of water. If we don’t irrigate corn and beets now, we will have nothing to cover our costs and feed livestock. Many farmers hoped for a good harvest, took loans, invested money,” Vitaly Kakshtyks said.
The head of the largest agricultural cooperative in Kyrgyzstan, Rysbek Imanaliev, noted that the farmers foresaw the situation in the fall of last year and asked the Ministry of Agriculture to take measures.
“We foresaw this situation back in the fall. It was very dry then. Because of this, many peasants were unable to plow their lands in autumn. This suggests that all the things that are happening now could have been foreseen. We then turned to the Ministry of Agriculture, said what the situation could be. Let’s not look for the guilty now. A systematic approach is needed here,” Rysbek Imanaliev said. (24.kg/Business World Magazine)